Godmode: My Infinite Game Odyssey

The keeper stood quietly at the door, watching them leave, his back against the silhouette of countless wax figures, their marble faces slowly emerging from the darkness, eerily reminiscent of fish breaking through the water's surface.

[Main Quest: Explore the Siren Wax Museum - Completed] 

[Points Earned: 50] 

[Current Points Balance: 81. Do you wish to purchase any items?]

81 points... Liam Watson rubbed his chin and asked: "Do you have any high-concentration alcohol?" 

[Opening shop — Yes, there are 218 different types of special quality alcohol, with 18 types available for purchase in this instance.] 

[What's the cheapest one?] 

[9 points for 25L. A friendly reminder: The alcohol in this game is not the same as real-world alcohol. After system modification, its effects may vary, so it's recommended to read the manual before purchase.] 

[System Suggestion: Your points balance is sufficient. We recommend purchasing the Flame Torch item because it has better and safer effects.]

Liam Watson thought momentarily: "Read the alcohol item manual."

The system immediately popped up a slew of dense panels with dozens of pages of fine print. The text was so small that even a quick glance could strain the eyes.

Liam wasn't surprised. He had seen this before. The cheaper the item, the longer the manual. On the other hand, popular items with higher prices had straightforward and tempting descriptions, directly stating their effects to entice players who were desperate for survival.

Liam was quite familiar with these marketing tricks as a person with limited funds. He filtered through the overwhelming promotions every shopping festival to find the most practical and affordable items.

The cheaper the item, the more obstacles there were to purchasing it. One of those was long-winded manuals that left players unsure of the item's usefulness, leading many to skip over them in favour of other items.

Thus, these low-cost items rarely sold; some had almost no sales. Liam guessed no one had bothered to read the manuals thoroughly.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the menu for the Flame Torch and 3D Projector — both had price changes.

[Flame Torch price adjusted to 17 points in the Siren Town instance.] 

[3D Projector price restored to 6 points.]

Liam noticed that the prices for both items had changed since he last checked.

Items like the Bright Flashlight and Flame Torch were more expensive, often appearing in horror games due to their effectiveness. But it seemed the prices had changed after Liam used certain items, and since he was in a live-stream system…

Liam guessed that the prices had fluctuated due to the number of players purchasing these items during the live stream.

After reading through all the alcohol item manuals, he decided to buy the cheapest one. 

"I'll take them all," Liam said confidently. 

[9 bottles of high-concentration alcohol added to Liam Watson's shopping bag. We hope to serve you again soon.]

In front of the small TV, Shawn, watching Liam's hasty purchase, slapped his thigh: "Hey, what's this newbie doing?" 

"Is he planning to use alcohol to burn the wax figures? These figures might fear light but not fire. If you burn the wax outside, the monsters inside will escape! Why spend all your points like this? That's dumb!" 

Nearby, other players whispered among themselves: 

"What's up with this newbie? He spent all 81 points on the cheapest alcohol. Is he a drunk? No one ever buys this stuff." 

"He's probably assuming the mermaid wax figures are scared of fire because they fear light. But someone made this mistake before and used a torch to burn the mermaid figure. When the light of the torch dimmed, it was all over for them." 

"Forget it, I thought this guy might be good, but he's just a lucky newbie." 

"The quality of the central screen is dropping. This kind of newbie can get in? The previous batch of players was way more impressive..."

[0 new likes for Liam Watson's small TV, 2 new followers, 166 new downvotes, no one has recharged Liam Watson.] 

[1447 viewers are watching Liam Watson's small TV, with more than half downvoting. Liam Watson receives the 'Unqualified Player' title. People hope you'll die soon.] 

[Liam Watson's central screen edge promotion has expired.] 

[The downvote rate is accelerating, and Liam Watson enters the 'Death Comedy' screen category. Use your hilarious death and game skills to entertain the audience!]

Shawn watched as the edge of the central screen flashed, and Liam's small TV dimmed. He pushed his glasses up, thinking about the high-level NPC information he hadn't gathered yet. After a brief hesitation, he stood up and walked toward the Death Comedy section amidst the mocking whispers.

---

In the game.

Nightfall. 

The driver drove the van down the darkened streets. The streetlights flickered on, and fishermen, dragging fishing nets and carrying curved knives, walked by with vacant stares, their eyes fixed on the van passing them. 

These were the fishermen headed for the mermaid hunting activity tonight.

Under the dim streetlights, the townspeople's faces were marked with dark, marble-like lines, with some slime dripping down their bodies. Their eyes emitted a faint green glow in the dark and looked far more terrifying than during the day.

The driver warned again: "These townspeople are dangerous. They haven't had income for a long time. Just watch the mermaid hunting from the designated boats later, don't interact with them. You all look like outsiders, so don't be an easy target for robbery."

The driver chewed on his sandwich, bits of fish fillet falling from the corners of his mouth. Liam smelled the disgusting stench of rotten fish, but no one else in the van seemed to mind. Andrew kept staring at the sandwich, drooling and scratching behind his ear. 

Lucy couldn't hold back and said, "This sandwich smells really good." 

Andrew, irritable, growled: "What are we eating for dinner? I'm starving!" He shot an annoyed glance at Liam.

The group had eaten at the wax museum earlier. Liam had chosen the cheapest vegetarian meal, avoiding all fish. Not only did Andrew throw a fit, but Lucy was also taken aback. But since Liam was paying, everyone had to go along with it.

Andrew cursed, "If you can't afford meat, don't play adult games. Go back and drink your mom's veggie milk!" 

Liam simply smiled, "If that's the case, Andrew, you can order meat yourself." 

He removed Andrew's vegetarian meal, but all the meals at the wax museum were expensive, and Andrew couldn't afford them. But Liam said no, and that was final.

Andrew didn't dare challenge Liam. After all, Liam was paying for the hotel tonight, and Andrew didn't want to sleep on the streets in this town.

But Gerald didn't care, so Andrew snatched the vegetarian meal from him and punched him a few times. Gerald shrank into a corner, clutching his stomach without saying a word.

Now, smelling the sandwich, Gerald kept swallowing, his throat bobbing, his eyes filled with suppressed desire. He glared at Andrew with a bloodshot look.

[Gerald's Bloody Plot – Side Quest Progress: 30%]

Liam gave a quick glance at Gerald, who had his head down.

Andrew, driven crazy by hunger and the smell of the sandwich, kept scratching his ear with frustration.

Liam noticed the skin behind Andrew's ear had turned red from the scratching. Suddenly, it contracted and expanded in an arc, resembling fish gills breathing. It only lasted a moment, then the skin pressed back against his ear as though alive, gently pulsing.

It looked like fish gills moving on land.

Liam took a coin and glanced at Andrew. 

[NPC Name: Andrew (Highly Mutated)]

After leaving the wax museum, Andrew's mutation had worsened...

Liam raised an eyebrow: "Andrew, did you touch those mermaid wax figures in the museum?" 

"So what?" Andrew turned, snarling: "Liam, tonight, we'll see who's the one who should go back and drink milk!" 

Andrew's angry growl echoed instantly, his gills flaring open in the dimly lit van. Liam could clearly see the gill-like skin behind his ear trembling violently.

The driver hissed lowly: "Hey, no dueling in the van!" 

Andrew immediately retracted his gills, but his angry glare remained fixed on Liam.

The driver said: "I found a place for you to duel or bet. Tonight, it's a secluded beach with two wooden boats. Watch out for your safety. If you drown, it's not my problem." 

After a while, the driver chuckled to himself: "But you've been here for so long, you probably won't drown... You should all know how to swim by now."

Liam's expression froze. He couldn't swim.

Like the creatures of the sea, the townspeople were gradually transforming into fish-like beings. Even the newcomers, like them, were slowly becoming fish-like too, craving strange fish meat and giving off a subtle fishy smell...

Fish are naturally born to swim. They wouldn't drown. 

Except for Liam.

He was different from everyone else. He hadn't eaten any of those strange fish or been near any mermaid wax figures. 

Liam suspected these two things were causing the others' transformation into fish, while he remained unaffected. But after he participated in the bet tonight, the danger escalated for him. 

Who knew what else lurked in the sea? Who knew if Andrew would turn into a monster and overturn his boat?